Fall twice get up three times
Oh friends, I fell off on this happy little blog. I got busy, then tired, then busy again. But; I’m back in the saddle again.
This pause in my blogging got me thinking about how we perceive failing and what that does to us personally. I have failed many times in my life. It has led to some imposter syndrome, some fear of success, and lots of therapeutic interventions. As Maya Angelou said “Still I rise” and I think that’s the best part of my failures. I get to get back up and try again and prove to people that it’s ok to fail, fall down, or need to recalibrate.
IDK, if it’s social media’s influence in making us think that other people’s lives are perfect. I think that we’ve had this social dynamic for a long time. In base (really gross and biologically incorrect) terms think of the women who thought they failed their husbands and families by having daughters and not sons. The idea of living up to society’s standards has always been problematic. I think what we need to do is keep lifting each other up and being honest with ourselves and others.
One thing I’ve learned from my time on social media is that we are not alone in what we are going through and there seems to be a bit of a shift (at least on GenX Twitter) from “I never fail” to “guys, you ready for my latest chaotic life story!?!?!” and what a beautiful shift it has been. We’re now encouraging each other to go forward and giving praise for the triumphs. I like reminding people that destruction and failure leads to greatness because it really does! If you did everything perfectly you wouldn’t try to achieve more; you’d sit satisfied at how well you’ve done and all that you accomplished. Moving through something difficult can be what spurs you on to try new things.
Recently I’ve been part of a research team and my task has been to watch, read, and learn about Einstein. Yes, witch school talks about Einstein (that’ll come later). It’s through this research I have come to know of all the “failures” in historical science. These failures proved to be gateways to amazing thoughts and ideas. If they had not tried and failed, we wouldn’t be where we are today for all the good and bad ( ‘a-bomb’) that exists now. So if it’s ok for all the great scientific, artistic, influential thinkers out there to fail and try again, it’s good enough for us.
